Rogers shares OVC Newcomer of the Week to cap off first week at TTU

Sep 02, 2012

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Tech wide receiver Da'Rick Rogers
has capped off a busy week in style, being named co-Newcomer of the
Week in the Ohio Valley Conference for his role in the Golden
Eagles' sesason-opening, 41-31 victory over Hampton University on
Thursday night.

Rogers, a transfer from the University of Tennessee who only joined
the team three days before the game, caught three passes for 75
yards including a big nine-yard touchdown grab from Tre Lamb just
four seconds before halftime. Earlier in the drive, the junior from
Calhoun, Ga., pulled down a 52-yard pass completion to set up the
score.

He shares the weekly honor with freshman runningback Troymaine Pope
of Jacksonville State. The league also honored Eastern Illinois
quarterback Jimmy Garappolo as Offensive Player of the Week,
Eastern Kentucky senior Brooklyn Fox as Defensive Player of the
Week and UT Martin senior kicker Cody Sandlin as Special Teams
Player of the Week.

Rogers and the Golden Eagles will be back in action Thursday night
when they host North Greenville at 7 p.m. in Tucker Stadium. Call
the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center (931-372-3940) or visit
to order tickets. OFFENSIVE Jimmy Garoppolo, QB • Jr., 6-3, 206 • Arlington
Heights, Ill. • Eastern Illinois Garoppolo became just the seventh Eastern Illinois
quarterback to pass for five or more touchdowns in a game as the
Panthers opened the season with a 49-28 win over rival Southern
Illinois. The junior completed 32-of-49 passes for a career-high
369 yards and five touchdowns. Garoppolo threw touchdowns passes to
four different receivers and the touchdowns went for 2, 14, 50, 11
and 31 yards. The five touchdowns moved him into fifth in EIU
history (39) while the 369 passing yards were the 15th-best
single-game effort in school history.
Others Nominated: Alan Bonner, Jacksonville State; Scott
Lathrop, Southeast Missouri; Michael German, Tennessee State;
Tre Lamb, Tennessee Tech; Jason McNair, UT
Martin.

DEFENSIVE Brooklyn Fox, DB • R-Sr., 6-4, 215 • Tulsa, Okla.
• Eastern Kentucky Fox intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble in
Eastern Kentucky’s season-opening loss at Football Bowl
Subdivision (FBS) foe Purdue. The senior’s first interception
came on the Boilermakers first drive of the game, picking off a
pass at EKU’s own 34-yard line. Fox also picked off a pass at
the EKU 30-yard line in the second quarter, returning it 46 yards
to the Purdue 24-yard line. The fumble recovery came early in the
fourth quarter, setting the Colonels up at the Purdue 20-yard line.
Fox was the first EKU player to tally three turnovers in a game
since 2009 (Patrick McClellan).
Others Nominated: DJ Bland, Eastern Illinois; Rashad
Smith, Jacksonville State; George Neuhaus, Southeast Missouri; Nick
Thrasher, Tennessee State; Marty Jones, Tennessee
Tech; Chris Wright, UT Martin.

SPECIALIST Cody Sandlin, K • Sr., 6-2, 180 • Goodlettsville,
Tenn. • UT Martin After missing his first two field goal attempts of the
night, Sandlin was money when it mattered, converting two field
goals in the final five minutes of the game to give UT Martin a
20-17 victory at Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) foe Memphis. The
win was the first for the Skyhawks over a FBS opponent and just the
19th all-time win for an OVC team against the higher subdivision.
With 4:52 to play Sandlin connected on a 26-yard attempt to give
UTM a 17-10 advantage. His most important kick of the game came
with four seconds remaining, as the senior connected from 43-yards
out to break a 17-17 tie and give the Skyhawks the victory.
Others Nominated: Tavares Crawford, Eastern Illinois;
Griffin Thomas, Jacksonville State, Steven Mix, Murray State; Joe
Vucic, Southeast Missouri; Jamin Godfrey, Tennessee State;
Zach Sharp, Tennessee Tech.

CO-NEWCOMER Troymaine Pope, RB • Fr., 5-9, 198 • Anniston,
Ala. • Jacksonville State In his collegiate debut Pope carried the ball 14 times
for 65 yards (4.6 yards/carry) and caught a 19-yard touchdown pass
in Jacksonville State’s loss at No. 10 Arkansas. The
touchdown catch came with 40 seconds to play in the first quarter
and tied the game at seven against the high-powered Football Bowl
Subdivision (FBS) team. Pope had a long run of 23 yards in the
contest and was the team’s leading rusher.CO-NEWCOMER Da’Rick Rogers, WR • Jr., 6-3, 205 •
Calhoun, Ga. • Tennessee Tech In his Tennessee Tech debut Rogers, the transfer from
Tennessee who joined the team just days before the game, caught
three passes for 75 yards, including a nine-yard touchdown with
four seconds to play in the first half. That touchdown was setup by
his 52-yard catch earlier in the same drive. The score put
Tennessee Tech up 24-7 in a game it would go on to win 41-31.
Others Nominated: LeQuince McCall, Eastern Illinois;
Darian Yahyavi, Murray State; Scott Lathrop, Southeast Missouri;
A.C. Leonard, Tennessee State.